In the Village of Le Mans
by xJadeRainx
Summary: Here's another prequel of Ocean Heart and Ocean Star. The story revolves around a young Xavier and his parents. A must read for the Xavier fans of the world!
1. Chapter 1: Sister Moon

It is springtime in the small French village of Le Mans, and Brother Sun has finally set. A mother sits in an old rocking chair near an open window taking in the scent of the fresh spring daisies, with her young son on her knees. They are there to ask Sister Moon to watch over their family as they sleep, a tradition Madame Stoddard began even before her now three year old son could speak.

"Protect Mama, et Papa, s'il vous plaît," the boy petitions Sister Moon.

"Who else?" presses his mother.

"Moi!"

The young mother laughs at his innocence, "Come, there is still more."

The boy stops, his little brain concentrating, "Oh, and cousin Belle."

"Oui, mon chéri," she smiles, "but still, who else?"

He places his tiny hands upon the windowsill and hoists his body upwards, so that he might get a better look at Sister Moon, "Uncle Maurice!"

"Mais oui, Xavier," his mother chuckles, tucking him in her gentle arms, "but now it is time for bed."

"I'm not sleepy," Xavier yawns.

"Non?" the mother questions in amusement, laying him down in his own bed, "but I think you are."

Little Xavier shakes his head vigorously. His mother lovingly covers her son with a warm blanket, but Xavier clearly has protest written across his face.

She places her hands on her hips, and cocks her head, "It is far past your bedtime, mon chéri, do not make me call Papa. He will set you straight."

Xavier seems to consider his mother's words for a moment. There were many things he can get away with, where his mother is concerned, but his father is a different story entirely. Papa means business. Xavier remembers what happened earlier this morning. Papa had spanked him for spooking the horses, and he certainly isn't eager for another punishment so soon. He can stay in bed. Xavier listens to the soft strains of his mother's voice as she sings him into dreamland. This is something he has become accustomed to in his ancient life span.

_Dodo, l'enfant do,  
L'enfant dormira bien vite  
Dodo, l'enfant do  
L'enfant dormira bientôt._

Xavier's mother smiles to herself. The child's eyes are closed now. Surely, he is sound asleep. She lightly tiptoes her way out of the room when... creak. Ami frowns. She has stepped on a loose floor board that makes the most irritating of sounds. Her husband was supposed to have fixed that. Now of course, her son is again wide awake.

"Mama," the child begs, "tell me the story about the mermaid."

Ami sighs in exhaustion, "Non, Xavier, you have heard that story a million times! Go back to sleep."

"But _Sister Moon_ hasn't," the boy challenges.

"All right," Ami relents, "but after the story, you must promise to go to sleep, oui?"

Xavier nods wearing a large grin, and Ami begins her tale.

"J'étais à la plage, One clear, sunny day, when the sky was blue as ever, my parents took me to swim in the sea. I was four years old, and I was very excited, because it was the first time I had ever seen the ocean. I was playing in the sand, reveling really..."

"What does reveling mean?" Xavier interrupts.

"It means," Ami pauses. How should she explain this, "reveling is like saying, you enjoy doing something very much."

"Oh."

Having seemingly placated her son, she continues.

"I was playing in the sand, reveling really, when my eyes caught a glimpse of a small, shiny object. It was a pearl. I knew this because ma mère had a string of pearls that she would wear about her neck on special occasions. I tried reaching for the pearl, but it was just out of reach. So I stretched my hand a little further, and at that moment a wave rushed at me and pulled me under the water. Zut alors, I cried, for I thought I was going to drown, and never see ma famille again. But soon I was back on the sand and breathing in the salty sea air. Sitting up, I saw a tail, I knew it was a mermaid's tail, splash into the water."

"Did you ever see the mermaid again?" the boy asks.

Ami shakes her head in fascination. Xavier very well knows what comes next in the story. What the boy is doing now, is attempting to stall his bedtime. Such a cunning little thing!

"What do you think?" Ami questions with a smile.

"I think you went back to the beach!"

"Oui," confirmed his mother, "From that day on, I would ask ma mère to take me to the beach everyday. Everyday I would search for the mermaid, but everyday I was disappointed. Until one morning, as I combed the beach for little shells, a head came up from the water. Je m'appelle Siren, she said to me. Je m'appelle Ami, I said to her. And that is how I became friends with a mermaid. Sometimes she would bring me one of her human treasures and ask me what it was. I was very proud because I could identify each and every one. One time she showed me a pair of spectacles, the same kind that mon père kept on his nightstand. Another time, she brought a sparkling diamond ring, and I told her that human women wear those on their fingers. Each day I would give names to her treasures and she would tell me stories about the mermen living beneath the waves. She was my very best friend."

"And what happened next?" Xavier sits up in bed, his sea green eyes open wide.

"Nothing, for that is the end of the story."

Xavier crosses his arms, clearly irritated at being outsmarted by his mother. There is a knock at the door, and Xavier's father appears standing tall in the door frame. His arms are crossed, and he has a stern expression on his face.

"When Mama says it's time for bed, then it's time for bed, Xavier."

"Yes, Papa," the boy says meekly.

Marshall softens a bit at this, and holds out his arms, "Come, hug me goodnight."

Xavier quickly bounds out of bed, and zooms over to his father. Marshall is strong, with large muscles from lifting the heavy haystacks in the barn, and effortlessly lifts his son off the ground, and into a tight hug. He spins the boy around a few times, and Xavier giggles. Finally, Marshall returns the boy to his bed, and his mother once again covers him with a blanket.

"Now, you sleep," Marshall raises an eyebrow at his son.

"Oui, Papa."

Madame Stoddard strokes her sweet, little boy's sandy hair for a moment, "Bonne nuit, Xavier."

"Bonne nuit," he returns to his parents.

Xavier closes his eyes to sleep, and Marshall takes his wife, lovingly by the hand, leading her quietly out of the room. He expertly avoids the creaking floorboard, and silently prays his wife has yet to realize that he still has to repair it. They steal one last look at their son, before closing the door.

"He looks almost like an angel when he sleeps," Marshall remarks.

"He is an angel," the mother coos.

Finally, they shut the door, and retire to their own room for the night.

"I don't know why you tell the boy those grandiose stories about mermaids and such, Ami," Marshall remarks as he dresses for bed.

"Every last word of it is true," maintains his wife.

"Yes, of course, my love," Marshall says, kissing her softly on the lips.

Ami smiles, and they both climb into bed. As she lays her head against the pillow, her husband speaks to her again.

"Ami?" Marshall begins unsure.

"Oui, mon chéri?" Ami asks with a yawn.

"I will be taking Xavier with me to work tomorrow."

Ami turns to face her husband, propping herself up on her elbow, "Again? But, that makes three times this week!"

"It will be good for him, Ami, to see how his Papa works."

"I know," Ami exhales heavily, "but I miss having him tugging at my apron strings."

"He's only getting older," Marshall caresses his wife's cheek, "Xavier needs to learn the business at some point. It might as well be sooner than later."

"But he's only three years old!" shrieks Ami, "I don't want him growing up _that _soon."

Marshall offers his wife a loving smile, "All right Ami, you can keep him tomorrow. I'll take Xavier to work with me on Monday, then."

Ami sighs, "but what if he doesn't want to grow up to take care of horses, Marshall?"

Marshall scratches his head, "Well, in Le Mans, a boy can grow up to be one of three things, a stable hand, a gunsmith, or a thief. Horses run in his blood, at least."

Ami might have argued that point with her husband longer, but she is far to tired for that. Where is the man she married only four years ago? Ami loves her husband madly, but ever since Xavier was born, Marshall had become so serious, never stopped working for a minute. Ami remembers when she first met her Marshall. She had never met a foreigner before. When Marshall came to France he was mysterious, charming, handsome, and ... fun. Now, well the man is practically a work horse, but he _is_ earnest. And Ami loves him for that.

Instead she says, "Yes, I suppose you're right."

Marshall again kisses his wife goodnight, then leans over to the nightstand, and blows out a candle. Ami plops back down into bed, and turns to face the window. Sister Moon is smiling brightly tonight.

Xavier is a smart boy, special. She would die before she ever saw him become a simple stable boy. No. Ami closes her eyes, thinking. Her son is destined for greater things.

* * *

**Quick French Lesson**

Oui = Yes

Moi = Me

S'il vous plaît= Please

Mais oui = That's right

Non = No

J'étais à la plage = I was at the beach

Ma mère = My mother

mon père = My father

Zut alors = Oh, Gosh!

Ma famille = My family

Je m'appelle = My name is

Mon chéri = My darling

Bonne nuit = Goodnight.

* * *

**Song:**

The song Xavier's mother sings to him is an old French Lullaby.

Dodo, l'enfant do,  
L'enfant dormira bien vite  
Dodo, l'enfant do  
L'enfant dormira bientôt.

It translates to:

Sleepy time, the young one sleeps,  
The child will sleep very soon  
Sleepy time, the young one sleeps,  
The child will sleep oh, so soon.

Here's a link to listen to the song in French. (No spaces)

http:// www. youtube. com/watch?v=NFSu_YaVdrg

* * *

**Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah.**

Oh my gosh, little Xavier is so cute isn't he? This is my first one shot, and I am so proud of myself. I admire all you authors who write one shots. They aren't easy! Sometimes writing concisely is much more difficult than writing a multi-chapter story. I'm so glad I pulled this off! Although, I still might expand this into a two shot. We'll see how that goes then, won't we?

Frere Jacques,  
Dormez vous?

xJadeRainx


	2. Chapter 2: Mourning

Things will always change. That is a lesson Xavier Stoddard has learned a little too well. For one, Xavier is no longer a three year old child who's only worry was to find some way out of bedtime, and second, he no longer believes in mermaids, or fairy tales. Now, Xavier is a grown man of nineteen years. In fact, he has celebrated his nineteenth birthday just last month. He had been happy then, but now Xavier realizes that contentment can easily be ripped away, in less than an instant. Currently, he sits on the old, stone steps of a modest church, digging with a fat stick, into the soil.

"Your mama would scold you right now, Xavier," his cousin, Belle, younger by two years, sits at his side, but Xavier does not look up.

Belle watches her cousin sadly for a minute or two, waiting for some kind of response. When Xavier does not reply, she continues, "for getting your Sunday clothes dirty, non?"

Finally, Xavier lifts his sea green eyes to meet Belle's brown ones, and offers a humorless smile at the girls attempt at a joke. He is grateful to her, really. It is a kind gesture. Perhaps if it were any other day, he Xavier might have laughed.

"Où est ton papa?" Belle asks.

"Pop? Inside the church," Xavier sighs, "he wanted a moment alone with mama before the..."

Xavier cannot bring himself to finish the sentence. Every last fiber of his being is fighting off the words. Maybe then, it wouldn't be real. He will wake up in the morning to find it was only a bad dream, all of it. Xavier wipes the sweat from his brow. Le Mans, is smack dab in the middle of a sweltering summer. It hasn't rained in weeks. As a result, the grass is brown and parched, and the poor daisies were all long dead. His mother used to love daisies, they were her favorite. No one saw it coming. His mother's sickness came on so suddenly. Neither Xavier nor his father were worried. His mother had always been a strong, healthy woman. The illness was supposed to have passed. Even after his mother developed a fever, Xavier was still unconcerned. His mother was never sick for long. Perhaps though, he should have been concerned, for shortly after his mother contracted the fever, the drought had struck, plunging Le Mans into the greatest heat wave the small village had ever experienced. His poor mama, she was miserable all that time. Xavier or his father would dutifully bring her water to sip, or fan her flushing cheeks. His mother was dead within the week. And what had it all been for? She was the greatest woman in all the world, and he had failed her. Perhaps if he had only brought her to a doctor sooner...

"Before the funeral starts," Belle finishes her cousin's sentence for him.

"Oui," Xavier sighs again, chocking back tears.

The stable boy thinks he is successful in his attempt, but Belle clearly notices the wet spots in the otherwise dry dirt. The water droplets certainly hadn't come from the non-existent rain clouds. Belle rests a comforting hand on Xavier's broad shoulder. Really, that is all she can do for him at the moment.

"I'm behaving selfishly, aren't I, Belle?"

"Non," Belle gasps at her cousin's bizarre words.

"Yes, I am," he maintains.

"I don't understand."

"You lost your mother at such a young age, you don't even remember her. And I'm... I'm a grown man now."

"Belle sighs, "That doesn't make the hurt any duller, Xavier."

Xavier goes back to tilling the soil with his stick. He is about to respond to his cousin, when a pair of black shoes appears in front of him. His gaze travels from the black shoes to the hem of a woman's charcoal gray skirt, then to the bodice of her dress, and finally to her face. Blond hair, blue eyes. Xavier knows this girl well enough.

"Bonjour, Babette," Xavier greets unenthusiastically.

"I am sorry for your loss, Xavier," Babette begins.

"Merci," Xavier answers automatically, retuning his attention to the dirt.

"Mama has asked me to tell you that you and your father are welcome at our home anytime," Babette says nervously, "two grown men alone... if you ever need a good, home cooked meal..."

"I'll be sure to relay your message to my father," Xavier cuts her off, "tell your mama, that Pop, and I thank her for the generous offer."

"Oh, okay," Babette blushes, and walks off, grateful for her opportunity to escape.

Belle watches as the girl leaves, and then glances over to her cousin who is still playing in the dirt, like a child.

"She likes you, Xavier," Belle states.

Xavier shrugs, and scratches a circle into the dirt with his trusty stick, "Pop has been trying to set me up with her for years. He's friends with her father."

"She seems nice," Belle remarks thoughtfully.

"Babette? Yeah, she _is_ nice," Xavier answers absentmindedly.

The truth is, Babbette lacks a certain substance Xavier was looking for in a woman. She's kind, but painstakingly shy. Xavier cannot call her stupid, however, Babette still isn't the brightest woman in the village. Frankly, something is missing, when it concerns Babette, and Xavier simply doesn't feel right about that.

"And pretty too," Belle gently pokes him in the side of his ribcage.

Xavier only blows a lock on sand colored hair out of his eye, and draws eyes, a nose and a mouth into the circle he made in the soil. Babette is good looking enough, he supposes, but for one reason or another, Xavier has always found himself partial to red heads.

"How's your papa holding up?" Belle wisely changes the subject.

"Miserably," snorts Xavier, "he tries to hide his pain from me but..."

"But what?"

"Once I heard him say, 'Without my Ami, I am nothing.'"

"That is so sad," Bell says sorrowfully.

"Oui, I know," Xavier exhales, "I just wish he would share his pain with me, share anything, at all, with me. Instead he bottles up his emotions... I'm worried about him. Pop never drank, _never_. Last night, he disappeared for a few hours. Pop must have gone to the tavern. He came home smelling of booze."

"He's grieving, Xavier," Belle grabs her cousin's hand.

"So am I," Xavier responds flatly.

He stops to admire the face he has sketched into the earth. Xavier realizes that he has unconsciously created a happy face. Quickly, he scratches out the smile, and replaces it with a frown.

"I'm going to miss you, Belle," he says suddenly.

"Miss me? Are you going somewhere?" Belle asks confused.

"Maybe."

Belle takes her cousin's chin in her hands, and forces Xavier to look her in the eyes, "What are you talking about, Xavier?"

"Tomorrow, I'm going to ask Pop about leaving here."

"Le Mans?" Belle clarifies.

"Non, France."

"Oh," Belle furrows her eyebrows.

"I have some money saved," Xavier laughs to himself, "I was going to send my parents away on the honey moon, they never were able to afford. I used to hear them talk about it as a kid."

"Oh, Xavier," Belle frowns.

"It's fine, Belle."

"If you leave France, then where will you go?"

"Well," Xavier pauses, "I was thinking maybe to my father's home country. He's mentioned it once or twice before... Shireland, I think. I'm not sure if we have family there, however. If we do, Pop never speaks about them," Xavier shakes his head, "anyway, I have about half of the money saved right now. If I continue working at the stables with Pop, we should have enough for the rest of the voyage by the end of the year."

"Aunt Ami hated you working in the stables."

"I know."

The sky unexpectedly turns ominously dark. Both Xavier and Belle look up in alarm. Seemingly, from out of nowhere, huge gray storm clouds crowd across the once clear skies, and hang over them like a heavy pall.

Xavier glances down at his watch, "Come on, it's time for the funeral now."

Xavier stands, brushing as much dirt off his clothes as was possible, and offers Belle his hand. His cousin accepts, and as they finally enter the church, the rain pours down.

* * *

**Quick French Lesson**

Oui = Yes

Non = no

Merci = Thank you

Où est ton papa? = Where is your father?

* * *

**Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah**

Well this was an uncharacteristically depressing chapter for me to write. It made me sad, as I'm sure it also made you sad while you were reading. Am I wrong? Probably not. Having said that, I put some things in to try to lighten the mood, like the bit about Xavier being more attracted to red heads, than blonds. Anyway, now you know a little more about Xavier, and his past. I hope you enjoyed this one/two shot, of mine.

In other news, the United States is still leading the Olympic medal count with twenty four medasl. 7 gold, 7 silver, and 10 bronze. We're setting a record for most medals in a non domestic game. Germany is in second place with sixteen medals, and Norway is in third with twelve. Go team USA!

Alouette, gentille alouette,

xJadeRainx


End file.
